Well, McGrath, thanks for the clarification of your criticism of my criticism. Always good. Makes me think -- as was said by someone else above -- about why the line jars. I think it is because it is in a different "register" of gesture towards meaning. To compare with someone later, Bob Dylan, Dylan has all these songs which have references to Romeo and Juliet, St. Francis, Popeye, whatever, in the same song, so the "register" of referred meaning remains the same, and a line reference like this one doesn't stand out. This is the only line in Raglan Road to me that seems to be from a different kind of poem than the others.

yours, Peter T.